It seems that after any disaster or tragedy, be it a horror of human making, or the aftermath of nature’s wrath, be it across the oceans or around the corner, we are inundated with images of suffering across our TV screens and social media feeds. We witness faces contorted with fear, mouths gaping in disbelief, bodies crouched, crying uncontrollably. In…
Taking time for yourself supports not only your own well-being but drastically changes the lives of your children. Frazzled, over-stressed parents make for frazzled and overstressed families. You may feel the need to be on call all the time, but there is no advantage to 24/7 parenting—it’s another unique stress for the modern parent. No one can be available all…
Along with the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care (NYZCCC), the Garrison Institute is hosting the fourth biennial Contemplative Care Symposium on November 8-11, 2018. The heart of the symposium is exploring ways to transform the culture of care through contemplative practice, meeting illness, aging, and death with compassion and wisdom. In the above video, Frank Ostaseski delivers a…
We typically think of those in caring professions like health care workers, teachers, and social justice organizers engaging in contemplative practices to cultivate their resilience. A quite different perspective is to consider how those who are being cared for can contribute to the resilience of their caregivers. Through nearly 10 years of teaching mindfulness in prison, and mentoring prisoners in…
When I recognize the need to serve someone who is suffering, I usually take an in-breath to get grounded and settle the body on the exhalation. Then I might ask myself as I encounter this person’s suffering, How can I keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions or actions? I also can ask, Why, really, do I want…
No one alive really understands death. But as one woman who was close to death once told me, “I see the exit signs much clearer than you do.” In a way, nothing can prepare you for death. Yet everything that you have done in your life, everything that has been done to you, and what you have learned from it…
When doing research for my latest book Real Love, I had the opportunity to talk to hundreds of my students around the world about what love meant to them—self-love, love for friends and family, romantic love, parental love, love in all contexts. In many of these conversations, the topic of “letting go” came up. In all facets of life, we…
“How are things going for you?” I asked Jan, a fourth-grade teacher participating in the federally funded research project being conducted in New York City. Jan had just completed the first two days of the CARE for Teachers mindfulness-based teacher professional development program and I had called her for a phone coaching session to see how she was doing as…